Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Bought by Gibbs Wealth Management

Key Points

• Gibbs Wealth Management increased its Meta position by 26% in the third quarter, acquiring 3,388 additional shares for a total of 16,420 shares valued at approximately $11.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $833.12; recent firms raised targets as high as $905.
• Meta exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $7.40 in earnings per share and $64.60 billion in revenue, up 26.1% year over year. However, insiders sold significant shares, including CFO Susan Li and CTO Andrew Bosworth under pre-arranged trading plans.

Gibbs Wealth Management boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,420 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,388 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.2% of Gibbs Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Gibbs Wealth Management's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 30.1% in the third quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,538,000 after buying an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Altura Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.6% in the third quarter. Altura Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,304 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,846,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the third quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,582 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,598,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 4,001 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,901,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 22,493 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $16,311,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $875.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $886.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $833.12.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 150,015 shares of company stock valued at $102,464,300 in the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AMD partnership strengthens AI infrastructure: Advanced Micro Devices plans to invest $1 billion in Meta’s stock while collaborating on multi-generation Instinct processors, CPUs and gigawatt-scale data-center deployments. The agreement could diversify Meta’s chip supply and improve computing efficiency. Advanced Micro Devices' Meta Platforms Partnership Goes Beyond a $1 Billion Investment
• Positive Sentiment: Advertising engine remains a key support: Recent analysis highlighted rising ad prices, stronger impressions and AI-driven improvements to ad conversions and Reels engagement. Analysts remain optimistic that Meta’s AI tools, including Muse, can support long-term revenue and earnings growth. Meta's Pullback Just Changed the AI Risk/Reward
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and AI upside: Daiwa Securities raised its Meta price target to $779 from $687, while other commentary characterized the recent pullback as an attractive entry point and cited potential gains from AI-powered commerce and advertising. Daiwa Securities Adjusts Price Target on Meta Platforms to $779
• Neutral Sentiment: New consumer AI products broaden Meta’s options: Meta launched Style Sketch, an AI fashion app that creates outfit ideas from users’ clothing, following the launch of the AI pet app Waddle World. These experiments could increase engagement, but their revenue potential remains unproven. Meta quietly launches an AI fashion app called Style Sketch
• Negative Sentiment: AI financing raises dilution and cash-flow concerns: Meta’s roughly $95 billion capital-raising plan, including common and convertible preferred shares, provides funding for AI infrastructure but increases shareholder dilution. Quarterly capital expenditures also pushed free cash flow negative, potentially limiting buybacks and dividends. Meta Just Priced a Stock Sale at $625 a Share
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and regulatory pressure continues: Meta delayed new commercial terms for publishers after objections and faces a major U.S. trial over alleged social-media harms to young users. These matters could create additional costs and reputational risk. Meta delays indefinitely its rollout of new commercial terms
• Negative Sentiment: Muse execution remains uncertain: Meta removed an Instagram ad promoting Muse’s ability to identify unfollowers, underscoring product-positioning and user-trust risks as the company expands its AI services. Meta took down its ad touting Muse

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $624.52 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $779.82. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $668.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $632.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $1.59 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The firm had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.16%.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company's principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.

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